Quick-opening razor



July 7, 1953 J. MuRoS QUICK-OPENING RAZOR Flled Nov 27 1948 Patented July 7, 1953 QUICK-OPENING RAZOR Joseph Muros, Newtonville, Mass, assignor to The Gillette Company, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Delaware Application November 2'7, 1948, Serial No. 62,405

6 Claims. 1

This invention relates to safety razors of the type employing a sectional cap in combination with a guard or other blade-supporting member for the purpose of supporting and clamping a thin flexible blade in shaving condition. A safety razor of this general type is disclosed in my prior Patent No. 2,009,272, dated July 23, 1935, and in one aspect the present invention consists in an improvement in the safety razor of. my said patent although it is not limited in its application to that or to any specific type of razor. In such safety razors as heretofore constructed the blade-clamping action has usually been secured by the employment of threaded members including a head by which the threaded connection is conveniently manipulated by the user in clamping the blade with the desired amount of pressure and releasing the cap or cap sections to expose the blade for cleaning or presentation of a fresh blade. The threaded type of connection has been entirely satisfactory. from the mechanical standpoint but its action is relatively slow in that the user has generally been obliged to give the controlling headthree or more turns to efiect either clamping or release and exposure of the blade.

An object of the present invention is to provide a quick-opening razor wherein the bladeclamping members may be released by a single movement of the user and the cap or cap sections quickly and automatically moved into wideopen position by spring action. As herein shown, this desirable result is achieved by providing a spring acting at all times to open the cap or cap sections in combination with mechanism including a pair of pivoted link members opposing the spring in their straightening movement and releasing the spring when broken so as to permit it quickly to open the cap or cap sections.

Another important feature of my invention consists in the provision of a yielding connection between the links and the cap or cap sections.

This is important in two respects. In the first place manufacturing costs would be greatly increased if it were necessary to manufacture the razor parts with such precision that the links straightened in toggle fashion bring the bladeclamping members positively to the exact clamping position desired. In the second place, excessive positive clamping pressure tends sometimes to break blades. By interposing a yielding element between the links and the cap or cap sections, desirable tolerance is allowed in the manufacturing operations and the danger of blade breakage is obviated.

2 These and other features and advantages of my invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which: I I

Fig. 1 is a view in'perspective of the complete razor in closed position;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the razor in open position; Fig. 3 is a View in elevation showing of the razor in exploded relation; and- 4 is a fragmentary view in perspective ilthe parts lustrating the toggle action of the razor parts.

The razor selected as an illustrative embodiment of my invention includes in its structure a rectangular guard or blade-supporting member it. This maybe constructed of heavy sheet metal and provided at its ends with down-turned ears H and along its longitudinal edges with guard bars it of the usual construction. The guard. member may be formed by die-pressing or molding a single-piece blank and is provided with an elongated depressed reentrant recess [3 of diamond shape and adjacent convex blade-supporting faces. The guard member is provided in each end with a centrally-depressed, notch or slot opening through the walls of the recess i3. It is also provided in eachcorner with a notch ill providing a vertical passage for the arms of the cap sections as will presently be described. The guard is rigidly connected to a tubular head it from which projects a tubular barrel it which comprises the handle of the razor.

The cap, which comprises two similar sections H, is carried by a spider comprising a bar l8 having a transverse cross arm id at each end and a central spindle 26 which is arranged to pass freely down through the head, l5 and into the barrel it of the handle; The spindle: 2D is shouldered and threaded at its lower end as shown'in Fig. 3. vlded at both ends with arms 2| and these arms are pivotally connected at their loweror innerends to opposite ends of the cross arms [9 of the spider. They are of such width as to pass freely through the notches it of the blade-supporting member ii! and each is provided with an outturned tongue 22 which when the spider is raised engages the body of the blade-supporting memberat the outer edge of one of the notches 14-; and swings its related cap section into the wideopen position shown in Fig. 2. On the other hand when the spindle 20 is forcibly drawn down- Wardly, the arms 2i of the cap sections-engage.

The cap sections I? are prothe upper face of the blade-supporting member and are rocked inwardly with the cap sections as the spider is lowered and the arms 2| are carried downwardly through the notches hi of the blade-supporting member.

The razor construction hereinabove described in connection with the drawings is not herein claimed but is substantially shown in my prior patent above identified.

A compression spring 23 encircles the spindle 20 within the tubular barrel N5 of the handle, bearing at its upper end upon the shoulder of the spindle and at its lower end upon a perforated disk 24 which acts as -:a ferrule for the razor handle as well as an'abutmen-t for the spring.

A flat stem or toggle link 25 .is arrangedfor movement in the lower portion of the barrel 16, being flattened to such dimensions ae te-pass freely through the perforation of the disk 24. This link is shouldered and threaded at its i-upper end to receive-a close wound spring 25 which at its upper end .is wound-upon the threaded end of the spindle 2 0. .The tspringiifi therefore provides a yielding connection between :the spindle 20 and the toggle link 25 which :may :be slightly elongated when the toggle is straightened, as will presently appear. The zconnecting spring526 is substantially smaller in diameter than the compression spring 23 so that it may beaa-rranged concentrically therein :and each spring may partake of its ,:full movement without interference from .the other.

. The toggle linku25.is;pivotally connected at its lower-end toza forkedzfinger piece 27 the ,inner part :of'w-hieh constitutes the :cooperating toggle link. of thepair. The toggle connection comprises .a 'transverse pin .28 whichis located approximately :m-idway of .the finger piece 27. The

upper end ofntheafinger piece 21 is rounded or beveled so that it makes a fair bearing with the roundedor beveled underfaceof'the disk 24 andsothat it can be :moved readily by the'user from the broken; position shown in Fig. 2 to the straightened -pressure-applying position shown in Fig. .1.

.ItWillbe understood that when the spring .23 is;permitted'to".act," the spider with the'cap sectionsll is-eleva-ted. The cap sections are thrown I into their wideeopen positionand the blade seat of-the .razor. isfully exposed so that a blade may be. readily placed -in position thereon. At the same time the toggle link ,25 is pulled upwardly and thefinger piece .21 held in transverse positionagainstthe-diskQfl of the handle. When the vuser'desires to. clamp a blade in shaving position, he has merely to turn the finger piece 27 to angle of -90 degrees, bringing its curved upper .end into sliding relation with the lower face of the-disks as suggested in Fig. .4 and thereby forcing downwardly by toggleaction the link 25 and the. spider which is connected: thereto rounded face of the abutment disk 24, whereupon the spring 23 becomes efiective to snap the finger piece 21 fully into its transverse broken toggle position, to elevate the spindle 20 and to cause the cap sections H to fly apart into their wideopen position.

It will be understood that when the finger piece 21 is turned into its transverse broken toggle position, it may be rotated with the link 25 and the spring connection between the link 25 and the spindle thus lengthened or shortened. This affords a convenient means for the user to adjust the blade-clamping pressure of the razor.

Having :thus -.d i-selosed my invention and described in detail an illustrative embodiment thereof, '1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters .Patent 1. A quick-opening safety razor comprising a blade-supporting member and a pair of separable cap sections cooperating therewith to clamp a flexible blade in shaving position, together with a spider carrying the nap .;se vtions and thawing @a spindle, a handle enclosing the. spindle and providi g :an abutment .at its lower (end, la -toggle link 'slidable on said abutment, ,a second toggle link connected to the first link, a close wound spring connecting said second link and spindle, and a compression spring concentric with and enclosing said close wound Spring .:.and tendin at :all times to lift thespider.

2. A quick-opening safety razor .-comprising cooperating blade -clamping guard and .cap portions relatively movable to clamp or release-an interposed blade, a handle including :a tubular portion extending downwardly :fro'msaid guard pontionand enclosing an axially amovable .stem =operatively ccnnected with-said cap portion, the lower end of said tubular portion bearing .a concave socket, a spring applying axial thrust :to said stem, and a finger=piece-pivotaily linked at an intermediate point therealong to said stem beyond :said tubular 1p,ortion,-;said finger-piece having a qconvexly shaped upper :end receivable in said concave-socket when the :fin ereniee i swung into axialalig-nment with -.sai :tubu;1ar por tion against the force of said spring.

A: quick-openin sai tyr azor compri i .0 peratin rbladeeolamp ns guard and ap n rtionsarelati-vel-y movable to clamp -or-,release-a,n interposed blad handle .inc-ludfli a tubular por n extendin downwardly from said-guard por ion an enclosin :Bil'l axially moi/able stem pe a iv y snne te -With sa :canportion, as prin app yin ;i 1 thrust to .said' stem, and axfi g ep e n veta y nked-1 at a i term diate p t .th r a n tosaidstemxb ynn r i lar portion and being pivotableglrpm a positioninaxial alignment with said tubular portion to a transverse position, and cooperating nesting means on said tubular portion and said fingerpiece releasably retaining them in axial alignment.

5. In a safety razor having relatively movable cooperating blade-clamping members, a handle construction comprising a cylindrical sleeve fixedly related to one of said members and enclosing an axially movable stem connected with the other of said members, a spring interposed between said sleeve and said stem and urging them in axially opposite directions, an end of said stem projecting beyond said sleeve, a fingerpiece pivotally secured at a point intermediate the ends thereof to said stem end, said fingerpiece being generally circular in cross section and being pivotable against the force of said spring from a position transverse to the axis of said sleeve to a position in axial alignment therewith.

6. In a safety razor having relatively movable cooperating blade-clamping members, a handle construction comprising a sleeve fixedly related to one of said members, an axially movable stem disposed within said sleeve and connected with the other of said members, said stem including" a helical spring capable of applying an axial force, means for progressively varying the overall effective length of said helical spring over an infinite range thereby to adjust the blade-clamping pressure to any of an infinite number of desired settings, a second spring interposed between said sleeve and said stem and urging them in axially opposite directions, and a manually operable external portion connected with said stem and manipulable against the force of both of said springs.

JOSEPH MUROS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Germany Nov. 12, 1940 Number Number 

